Mixed Crape Myrtle Live Plant – Quart Pot – 18-24 inches Tall – Outdoor

Overview

Transform your outdoor space with a beautiful crape myrtle live plant. This mixed variety, also commonly known as crepe myrtle or loosestrife, offers an array of stunning frilly, crinkled, or rippled blooms. Grown in a quart pot and standing 18-24 inches tall, this deciduous shrub is ready to establish itself in your landscape, providing a spectacular display of color and unique texture. Crape myrtles are celebrated for their extended blooming season and the architectural interest provided by their peeling bark, making them a fantastic addition to any garden. With origins spanning from India to Australia, members of the Lagerstroemia genus are adaptable and bring a touch of the exotic to temperate climates. This particular crape myrtle live plant is an excellent choice for gardeners looking for a relatively low-maintenance yet high-impact perennial.

The diversity within the Lagerstroemia genus means you can expect a delightful surprise in bloom color, ranging from deep purple to lavender, ivory, bright white, pale pink, magenta, and red. This mixed selection ensures a dynamic and colorful display. Whether you’re a seasoned gardener or just starting, understanding crape myrtle care is straightforward, ensuring your plant flourishes and becomes a focal point in your yard. Its resilience and beauty make it a popular choice for various landscaping needs, from vibrant hedges to striking specimen plants.

Key Benefits

Adding a crape myrtle live plant to your garden offers numerous advantages, enhancing both the aesthetic appeal and ecological value of your outdoor environment. These plants are truly versatile and rewarding.

• Stunning, Long-Lasting Blooms: Enjoy an extended period of vibrant, frilly flowers throughout the summer, bringing continuous color and cheer to your garden. The mixed varieties ensure a delightful surprise with each bloom.
• Unique Peeling Bark: Beyond their flowers, crape myrtles offer year-round interest with their distinctive peeling bark, which adds textural beauty to trunks and stems, especially in winter. This feature makes it a unique crepe myrtle plant.
• Versatile Landscaping Use: Perfect for creating colorful hedges, privacy screens, or as eye-catching specimen plants in any landscape design. Smaller varieties can even thrive in containers.
• Attracts Pollinators: The abundant flowers are a magnet for bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds, contributing to the biodiversity and health of your garden ecosystem.
• Relatively Low Maintenance: Once established, crape myrtles are known for being a low-maintenance choice for landscaping, especially when provided with appropriate growing conditions and proper crape myrtle care.
• Drought Tolerant: These plants exhibit good drought tolerance once mature, making them suitable for water-wise gardening in appropriate regions.
• Adaptable to Various Soils: While preferring neutral to slightly acidic soil, they are not overly demanding about soil pH, as long as it is well-draining. This makes growing crape myrtle accessible to many gardeners.

Plant Care & Growing Tips

Proper crape myrtle care is essential to ensure your plant thrives and produces its signature showy blooms. These guidelines will help you cultivate a healthy and vibrant crape myrtle live plant.

For optimal growth, your crape myrtle needs full sun, meaning at least 6 or more hours of direct sunlight per day. Insufficient sunlight will result in fewer blooms and diminished flower color. When it comes to soil, while not overly particular about pH, neutral or slightly acidic conditions are best. Crucially, the soil must be well-draining to prevent root rot, to which crape myrtles are susceptible. Fertilize lightly with a slow-release, high-nitrogen fertilizer to promote brighter flowers and healthy growth, but avoid over-fertilizing, which can lead to excessive leaf production at the expense of blooms. Regular watering is important, especially during dry spells and for newly planted specimens, but allow the soil to dry out slightly between waterings.

Growing crape myrtle also involves attention to pruning and disease prevention. Crape myrtles bloom on new wood, so late winter or early spring is the ideal time for pruning to encourage flowering. Remove suckers, tangled branches, or irregular shapes to maintain the plant’s best size and form. For larger plants, consider pruning away lower branches (4-5 feet from the trunk) to expose the delicate peeling bark, which provides year-round visual interest. Be mindful of potential fungal infections like powdery mildew and sooty mold; a general fungicide can reduce risk. Deadheading early-blooming varieties can encourage a second, though less prolific, bloom later in the season. These practices are key to successful crepe myrtle plant cultivation.

Size & Details

This crape myrtle live plant is supplied in a quart-sized pot, with an initial height ranging from 18 to 24 inches. This size makes it ideal for immediate planting into your garden or a larger container. Crape myrtles are known for their moderate to fast growth rate, and their mature size can vary significantly depending on the specific cultivar and growing conditions. Dwarf varieties may stay under a few feet, while larger types can grow into towering trees over 100 feet tall. This mixed selection offers diversity in growth habit and eventual size. The plant will arrive in a healthy, dormant or actively growing state, ready to be transplanted. With proper crape myrtle care, you can expect this plant to establish quickly and begin showcasing its beautiful blooms and distinctive bark within its first few seasons. It will be a stunning addition to any landscape.

Frequently Asked Questions

• Q: How big does this crape myrtle live plant get? A: The mature size of your crape myrtle live plant will depend on the specific mixed variety you receive. Crape myrtles exhibit great diversity, with some growing into small shrubs and others developing into large trees over 100 feet tall. Expect moderate to fast growth once established.
• Q: What size pot does it come in? A: This crape myrtle is supplied in a quart-sized pot, and the plant itself is 18-24 inches tall at the time of shipment. This is a good size for transplanting into your garden or a larger decorative container.
• Q: Is this an indoor or outdoor plant? A: Crape myrtles are primarily outdoor plants, thriving in garden landscapes where they can receive ample sunlight and develop their full size and beauty. They are well-suited for temperate and subtropical climates.
• Q: How much sunlight does it need for optimal growth? A: Your crape myrtle live plant requires full sun, which means at least 6 or more hours of direct sunlight per day. This is crucial for abundant flowering and healthy growth.
• Q: Is this plant easy to care for? A: Yes, crape myrtles are generally considered a relatively low-maintenance choice for landscaping, especially once established. Following basic guidelines for sunlight, soil, and watering will ensure successful crape myrtle care.
• Q: What condition will it arrive in? A: Your plant will arrive healthy, either actively growing or in a dormant state depending on the season, and ready for planting. It will be carefully packaged to ensure its safe journey.
• Q: When is the best time to plant a crape myrtle? A: The best time for growing crape myrtle is typically in spring or early summer, allowing the plant sufficient time to establish its root system before the colder months.
• Q: Will it survive winter in my zone? A: Crape myrtles are hardy in USDA zones 7-9 for most common varieties, though some newer cultivars can tolerate colder zones. Check local hardiness zones to ensure your climate is suitable for a crepe myrtle plant.
• Q: What type of soil does a crape myrtle prefer? A: This plant prefers well-draining soil that is neutral to slightly acidic. Good drainage is critical to prevent root rot.
• Q: What are the benefits of pruning a crape myrtle? A: Pruning in late winter or early spring encourages new wood growth, which is where the plant blooms. It also helps maintain the plant’s shape, size, and exposes the attractive peeling bark.